Jack the Ripper was Polish?

New DNA evidence seems to confirm that the notorious Jack the Ripper – who terrorised the East End of London in the late 19th century – was in fact Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski .

What is impressive is not only that a name has finally been identified well over a century after the murders were committed, but that the discovery was made by an “armchair detective”. Russell Edwards is “definitely, categorically and absolutely” certain that 23 year-old Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper.

“I’ve got the only piece of forensic evidence in the whole history of the case,” Edwards told The Guardian newspaper. “I’ve spent 14 years working on it, and we have definitively solved the mystery of who Jack the Ripper was.”

The evidence is a shawl which was found next to the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the five prostitutes killed by the infamous murderer. The garment was spattered with body fluids including blood and semen. The latter was compared with DNA material from a descendent of Kosminski’s, which resulted in almost a perfect match.

Kosminski was a Polish Jew who had escaped the Tsarist pogroms, and moved to London. At the time of the murders he worked as a barber in the area where the murders took place. He died in a mental asylum later in life.

He was not the only Polish Jew suspected of the crime. John Pizer was another suspect of the crimes. The Pole was arrested in September 1888, just a few months after the murders, but his charges were acquitted.

Jack the Ripper was never formally identified.